THE FLAG
Posts
🇺🇸 500-Year Flood

🇺🇸 500-Year Flood

Plus, old, broken-down alien spacecraft.

The Flag America's Newsletter
September 30, 2022

POWERED BY

Good morning, and happy Friday! Go ahead and have that second cup of coffee – or maybe even a third – this research explains why…

Plus, a pair of metals scientists created in the lab 60 years ago could connect to extra terrestrials…

Also, today’s Flag Find is all about restoring sun damage – and hydration…

FLAG POLLS

🐘 Wisconsin Governor - Michels vs. Evers: Evers 47, Michels 50 (Fabrizio/Anzalone)

🐎 Pennsylvania Senate - Oz vs. Fetterman: Fetterman 47, Oz 43 (Franklin & Marshall)

📉 Biden Job Approval: Approve 44, Disapprove 54 (Rasmussen Reports)

🐎 2022 Generic Congress Vote: Democrats 46, Republicans 42 (Grinnell/Selzer)

POWERED BY ROBOKILLER

Get Lost, Spam Calls! Your Personal Digital Defense System Is Here

It’s enough already with spam phone calls. They distract you while working or interrupt an otherwise peaceful day. Plus, should you answer it’s likely to be a scammer on the other end – hoping to steal your personal information.

Strike back against spam calls and texts. Robokiller eliminates 99% of these annoying intrusions, and they’re now offering a free 7-day trial. The app features call-predictive technology, which is a dead end for spam.

Pick up the phone with ease. This app fights for your digital privacy.

QUICK CLICKS

Miami's Mayor in Motion, Defining a Recession, Student Loan Switch

US: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez fled Hurricane Ian for NYC fundraisers (NY Post) + Tropical Storm Ian now takes aim at South Carolina (CNN) + 'This could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history' (POLITICO)

US: CNN article admits US is in a recession, but only by ‘one definiton’ (Fox News)

US: In a reversal, the Education Department is now excluding some borrowers from student loan relief (CNBC)

World: Russia to annex more of Ukraine today at the Kremlin (ABC News)

Sports: Shaquille O’Neal Admits He Was a “Serial Cheater" While Discussing Ime Udoka and Adam Levine (E! News)

US: Army’s First Trans Officer Indicted for Attempting to Give Confidential Records to Russia (National Review)

US: First-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford ready to deploy (Insider)

World: UK's Truss sticks with tax cuts as she breaks silence after market rout (Reuters)

Business: Facebook parent Meta freezes hiring (Axios)

US: Democrats scrap plan to vote on stock trading ban before elections (The Hill)

CLIMATE CHANGE

500-Year Flood

Hurricane Ian made landfall this week in South Florida, slamming into Fort Myers as a Category 4 storm – one of only 15 Category 4 or 5 storms that have hit the Sunshine State in recorded history. Governor Ron DeSantis says the storm surge and resulting flooding was “basically a 500-year flood event.”

Reporting from the Left: How climate change is making storms such as Hurricane Ian stronger (NPR)

Reporting from the Right: National Hurricane Center’s Rohme Dismisses CNN Host Lemon’s Effort to Tie Hurricane Ian to Climate Change (Breitbart)

From The Flag: As has been the case in recent years, major storms of this magnitude and the damage they cause lead to discussions of climate change. This summer we covered the heatwave in Europe, which inspired similar commentary. Some say Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified as a result of warmer ocean water, due to human-made climate change. Here’s more from both sides.

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Hysterics From Media and Democrats Ignores the Role of Government

Democrats and their partners in the media wasted no time politicizing this destructive storm – something they’re good at.
Government-subsidized home insurance is one of the only reasons people choose to live in hurricane zones.
Imagining a scenario where Floridians would all have to evacuate using EVs is scary and dystopian.

“Hurricane Ian, to Democrats, a chance to score political points” Cheryl K. Chumley, Washington Times Opinion: “Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, just hours before one of Florida’s worst weather events was due to strike, said of her party’s work on climate change: ‘That’s why we’ve got to win this as that hurricane bears down on Florida. We’ve got to win in the midterms.’ Never let a crisis go to waste? How about never let human misery go to waste — that’s the Democratic Party’s new tagline. The left is becoming despicably good at that. … Now it seems every time there’s an adverse weather event, here come the Democrats to finger-wag about environmentalism and the need to regulate, regulate, regulate. The Democrats — and the media. … Now come the Hurricane Ian prognosticators from the same school of science. And they’re typically wrong — but shamelessly, so. Once their mistake becomes clear, they move on to the next, barely missing a beat, hardly missing a night’s sleep, gaslighting merrily away.”

“Government Subsidies Encouraged Millions To Move Into Hurricane Ian's Destructive Path” Elizabeth Nolan Brown, Reason : “The extent of the havoc wreaked on Florida by Hurricane Ian—now downgraded to Tropical Storm Ian—is still unclear, but it is apparent that it caused major damage from which Floridians will need ample help recovering. … In any event, the situation brings up the question that natural disasters like this always do: Why do governments keep subsidizing houses in hurricane zones? Sure, some people would live in risky areas no matter what. Some live in these areas already and can't afford to move. But government intervention in the insurance market has helped many more people move to these areas since the 1970s… In Florida, for instance, millions of people in the past 50 years have moved into what became Hurricane Ian's path. And many new homes in risky areas were built to accommodate this. While some of these folks would surely have moved regardless, it seems likely that many would have been turned off if they couldn't get relatively inexpensive flood insurance.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: Electric vehicles and the evacuation of Florida Thomas Lifson, American Thinker

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Hurricane Ian Is Just the Latest Sign, and More Pain Is Coming

The rapid way Hurricane Ian intensified and became more destructive is indicative of climate change.
Population shifts are to be expected amid climate change, but it’s also causing financial duress due to insurance difficulties.
The flooding we’re seeing in South Florida is a problem that feeds on itself, as sea levels rise.

“Hurricane Ian bears all the hallmarks of climate change” David Knowles, Yahoo News : “On Wednesday, Hurricane Ian barreled ashore… packing 150 mph winds, submerging coastal communities in more than 10 feet of storm surge and dumping nearly two feet of rain in some locations. Two days earlier, however, Ian was just a tropical storm, and its rapid intensification is just one of the signs of how climate change has transformed how hurricanes behave. Over less than 22 hours… Ian got 67% stronger… That dramatic escalation fits the pattern of one of the characteristics of hurricanes that scientists have shown is linked to climate change. In fact, the number of intensifying storms in the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific over the last 40 years has increased by 25%, according to data from the NHC analyzed by the Associated Press. That trend is occurring in part because ocean temperatures have risen as a result of humankind pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.”

“Hurricane Ian exposes an insurance crisis that's much bigger than Florida” Jarvis DeBerry, MSNBC Opinion: “We’ve been told to expect climate change to cause population shifts, and it’s likely that most people have imagined that such changes will be a function of land washing away or a function of crops and livestock dying as temperatures climb. But that’s not the only way climate change is going to push us around. … During the four years of quiet that preceded Ian’s landfall, a dozen insurance companies evacuated the Sunshine State. Six insurance companies left from February to last week. This leaves Floridians, more than a million of whom have been forced to obtain insurance from a ‘last resort’ state plan, paying almost three times the national average for homeowners insurance. Unlike Florida, Louisiana was repeatedly hammered by hurricanes in 2020 and 2021. Just like in Florida, insurance companies are falling into insolvency and stranding their policyholders.”

One more opinion piece from the Left: Hurricane Ian is going to flood out Florida — and this is a constant climate change problem Matthew Rozsa, Salon

FLAG THIS

Across the Globe, Majority Say Climate Change Is Top Threat

A poll released late last month asked respondents in 19 different countries about the top threats they face.

Three in four said climate change is the top issue facing their country. It was also the most common response for people in the US (54%).

People on the political left in the US are much more common to say global climate change is a major threat (85%) than those on the political right (22%).

Six in ten Americans who identify as centrists say global climate change is the top threat (Pew Research).

How would you characterize your perception of hurricanes?

FLAG FINDS

Illuminate the Outdoors, Hear Your Surroundings, Restore Your Skin

🔆 Clip this pop-up lantern to your backpack or utility belt before your next hike. It’s a powerful LED flashlight when collapsed, and a super-bright and energy-efficient lantern when expanded. There are several different settings making it ideal for fishing, camping, or any other outdoor activity. Order yours today.

🦻 This powerful hearing aid is tiny and effective. Its technology focuses on boosting clarity, rather than just making things louder. After several years of development, Horizon by Hear.com makes use of leading German engineering as well as Bluetooth technology. Learn more at this link.

💆 This cream lifts and firms your skin, giving you a more youthful appearance. Smooth out stubborn fine lines and restore your skin’s radiance. That all sounds great, but how does it work? By repairing sun damage and hydrating your skin. Get your jar of Triple Natural’s anti-aging cream here.

WATERCOOLER

Wilson Backs Suffrage, Marriage Sabbatical, Pistol Shrimp

On September 30, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson gave a speech before Congress in support of guaranteeing women the right to vote. Although the House of Representatives had approved a 19th constitutional amendment granting women suffrage, the Senate had yet to vote on the measure.

METRO: Could a break from your partner be the key to a happy marriage?

Mental Floss: 25 Things You Might Not Know About the Birds in Your Backyard

The Guardian: Talking to whales

Today I Learned the pistol shrimp creates a bubble louder than a gunshot and when it bursts, it generates heat four times hotter than lava.

Reply

or to participate.